When do flexible soles stop being as important?

[pumpkin]

Winter is coming and my now 17 month old is obsessed with two things: 1) being outside and 2) running.

I've got her in pedipeds right now. On especially soggy days I have her wear her water shoes to go out and play. Neither of those is going to cut it when its cold and wet.

Some years we don't get much snow, just freezing rain. Last year we had tons of snow.

I need to figure out a shoe plan for
a) just normal errand running in and out of stores where she wants to walk as much as I can let her
and
b) playing outside when its cold and possibly snowy.

[butterfly_mommy]

When DS was little we used Stonz over his pedraig slippers or over his pedipeds if i wanted more sole protection.

[isabchi]

My oldest is 5 yo. and still using soft sole. My kids spend most of their days barefoot at home year around but for play outside they wear Soft Star shoes, especially in Winter time.

[CassnBeth]

My DD is 14 months old and we're having the same issue. I got her these shoes from See Kai Run.
http://www.seekairun.com/cgi-bin/com...ion&key=JORDAN

For some reason, not all their shoes have this particular sole but it is very flexible, durable rubber/silicone and I can fold the shoes easily in one hand. I am liking them so much that I spent a while carefully examining the pics of the other shoes to try and find another pair with this sole. (btw, the Sadie ones are identical)

Butterfly Mommy -- those Stonz things are brilliant! I think you may have just solved my winter boot problem. How flexible are they?

[butterfly_mommy]

Originally Posted by CassnBeth

Butterfly Mommy -- those Stonz things are brilliant! I think you may have just solved my winter boot problem. How flexible are they?

You can scrunch them up in your hand. I would have used them longer for DS if he didn't have such big feet (in a size 10 now).

[alfabetsoup]

I think it depends on where you're going to be walking. We're in a city so it's concrete & asphalt and lots of walking so my DDs wear pretty tough shoes. Pedipeds would be trashed in a week! If you're going to be walking around the burbs & doing sand or woodchip playgrounds then you should be fine in soft soles and those boots linked to above, but if there's any worry about broken glass, sharp stones or sticks I'd get something hardier. We like converse or keens.

[Abraisme]

Honestly, from what I've learned recently, flex soles NEVER stop being important. Our bodies are designed to work barefoot the best. My family and I have all gone back to wearing the least amount of shoe possible. There are a couple of companies that makes nice, barefoot shoes for children and adults.. This is one of them.

www.terraplana.com

[redvlagrl]

STonz are great! We used them last winter. They are essentailly a fabric bag for the foot so they are totally flexible - as flexible as a raincoat, say.

I think flexible soles are always important. We were using pedipeds originals until DD grew out of the larest size. Now we have a pair of the flexible see kai runs. Otherwise, it's barefoot. I am going to try and track down a large pair of robeez to go under her stonz this year. Or else thick socks. Apparently the linerz are thick but I think they will be too thick for us to fit into.

[lookatreestar]

it is still important for us... at 3.5 my dd is kind of a bad walker, if she doesn't have light/comfy shoes on she will complain and not walk.

we stick to bobux i walks, livie luca, terra plana, soft star, barefoot... etc.